The one-time Congress leader, Kapil Sibal tweeted, “Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Invitation to Heads of Government. Jaishankar to go to Islamabad. First visit after 9 years. Just a thought: What has India gained? What has Pakistan lost? I don’t have an answer!" Sibal need not worry, nobody has an answer, Jaishankar included.

EAM Jaishankar will be in Islamabad later this month and he wouldn’t be investing nervous energy talking turkey with Pakistan on a host of issues. Jaishankar has ruled out bilateral talks with Pakistan at the SCO Summit despite the fact that “after the peaceful Jammu & Kashmir elections, Modi's India is on strong ground.”

This will be the first visit of an Indian EAM to Pakistan in nine years. India’s ties with Pakistan had plunged and remained frozen since 2014. There wouldn’t be a thaw with the chill of another winter approaching. Jaishankar’s foreign policy talents, honed over a career in diplomacy, have been sadly wasted. Prime Minister Modi's global ambitions hinge on him alone charting seen leading from the front.

Also, India’s ties with Pakistan are all about Kashmir and Kashmir is not EAM Jaishankar’s brief. There is always Union Home Minister Amit Shah who is setting Modi's Kashmir agenda. A Modi minister with an urge to get Pakistan to quit PoK is Dr Jitendra Singh who seemingly runs the Prime Minister’s Office.

India’s Opposition, led by the Congress, is adamant talks with Pakistan should be resumed. Kashmir-centric political parties such as the National Conference, and Mehbooba Mufti's People’s Democratic Party, also want talks with Pakistan. Omar and Farooq Abdullah cannot imagine S Jaishankar will return from Islamabad without holding a single bilateral meeting with Pakistan. Blasphemous!

The Government of India has other reasons to be at the SCO. To strengthen confidence and good neighbourly relations with all SCO nations except Pakistan; “strive for cooperation in addressing threats from terrorism, extremism and separatism.” Jaishankar’s presence at the SCO could create a conducive atmosphere to put pressure on Pakistan to abandon the path of terrorism?

Problem is, nobody ever thought Jaishankar would be a “categorical person”, and would categorically rule out bilateral dialogue with Pakistan. "It (visit) will be for a multilateral event. I'm not going there to discuss India-Pakistan relations. I'm going there to be a good member of the SCO," Jaishankar said in New Delhi the other day.

The last Indian EAM to visit Pakistan was Sushma Swaraj in 2015, for the Heart of Asia Conference. In 2024, there is no heart in the visit with the Modi government sticking to the “no talks with terror” condition. India also blames Pakistan for the stalled South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

“Terrorism is unacceptable and if one of our neighbours continues to do it – there cannot be business as usual. That’s the reason why the SAARC meeting has not happened in recent years,” the EAM said. “At the moment, SAARC is not moving forward, we haven’t had a meeting of SAARC for a very simple reason – there is one member of SAARC who is practising cross-border terrorism at least against one more member of SAARC, maybe more.”

The Ministry of External Affairs doesn’t see any progress happening at the SCO conclave. The Pakistani leadership will try, but EAM S Jaishankar isn’t a muffin anybody can stuff in the mouth, he is more than savvy to keep Pakistan eating from his hands. That being said, the opportunity to question the Pakistani leadership on a host of stalled issues will not be exploited.

This, despite conducting smooth elections in Jammu & Kashmir. The J&K election results will be out on October 8 and the exit polls have projected a National Conference-Congress victory. If the BJP loses as badly as it will, according to the exit polls, S Jaishankar wouldn’t be at his witty-best in Islamabad.

Pakistan, like the NC and PDP, wants Modi to restore Article 370 and ‘35A’. The Pakistan media will be vultures on the prowl, voracious to not let go a chance to question Indian leadership on Kashmir. Just the other week, India at the UN had put Pakistan on the mat and said PoK will be taken. One thing is for sure, EAM S. Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad for the SCO summit won’t lack excitement.

Restoring J&K’s statehood is another thing Pakistan and J&K’s political parties share a common urge on. The Indus River Waters, the issue of recall of High Commissioners and resumption of trade and travel exchanges, all of these rest on resumption of bilateral dialogue. But EAM Jaishankar will go to Islamabad with nothing on his plate. Is Jaishankar a vegan, Pakistan is known for its kebab, and its korma? (IPA Service)